


It's what you do to me

by lydiastxles



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Barista Stiles Stilinski, F/M, Fluff, Romance, coffee shop AU, side scallison - Freeform, strangers AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-13
Updated: 2017-04-13
Packaged: 2018-10-18 07:06:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10611768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lydiastxles/pseuds/lydiastxles
Summary: Lydia Martin loved coffee.It was a common knowledge.Most people – the ones who didn’t know a single thing about Lydia – thought it was a habit she acquired in college. With the amount of work and early complicated classes she had, it was normal to assume her addiction to coffee was due to that.Boy were they wrong.Coffee had always been a part of Lydia Martin.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hey!  
> So, this was something I really loved to write and I'm really impressed it got that big.  
> This is dedicated to Nat (@stolensilmarils) as late birthday present. I hope you like it!  
> Also, kudos to Ellie (@stileslydias) that beta-read it and made me feel good about my writing.  
> That's it! I hope you all enjoy it :)  
> Don't forget to tell me what you thought!

Lydia Martin loved coffee.

It was a common knowledge.

Most people – the ones who didn’t know a single thing about Lydia – thought it was a habit she acquired in college. With the amount of work and early complicated classes she had, it was normal to assume her addiction to coffee was due to that.

Boy were they wrong.

Coffee had always been a part of Lydia Martin.

It all started when she was ten years old. It’s a very uncommon age for someone to start drinking coffee, but that’s when Lydia had her first sip. It was a Friday morning and she was early, as usual, for school. Lydia was sitting at her kitchen table, reading her favorite book while waiting for her mom to finish her shower to take her to school. In the Martin household they had no breakfast. They used to, when she was younger and everyone was happy, but that had changed in the last year and a half.  

With her mom back to work and her father out of the house until late at night, the family meals became more and more unknown for the girl. Now, instead of pancakes or waffles for breakfast almost every morning, she had to get used to industrialized food, such as pop tarts (which she didn’t care much for) and a very questionable juice (that she avoided drinking at all costs).

The first time she tried coffee was a mistake. She didn’t look at what she was drinking, and when the bitter liquid touched her tongue; her first instinct was to spit it out. But she didn’t. Because that’s not something that Lydia Martin would do. So she swallowed it and decided to pretend that never happened – that was an adult drink and Lydia wasn’t an adult yet. When her mother is ready and drinks her own cup of the dark liquid, Lydia doesn’t say a word and goes to school like she always does, expecting it to be a normal, boring day.  

Except that it isn’t.

For some reason, Lydia gets way more active. She reads more, she’s talking faster and she’s not tired at all when she gets home from school. Lydia is not stupid. She knows where this energy comes from. She’s very observant and Lydia is sure it’s because of the same liquid her father drinks late at night when he wants to stay awake to finish some work.

She asks her mom to make more coffee for her to drink – honestly, she really wants to finish this big book by evening – but her mother is appalled by the question. Her child should not be drinking coffee. That’s bad parenting and Natalie Martin is not a bad parent.

Lydia asks why she’s not allowed to drink coffee until she’s older – for a ten year old, she does a lot of things the older kids do too. Just look at the books she’s reading. She also doesn’t understand the big deal of her drinking it. Nothing bad happened – on the contrary, she got more stuff done than usual and was eager for it again.

Unfortunately, Natalie Martin still takes her kid’s intelligence for granted and tries to dissuade her from it, explaining in big words why kids aren’t allowed to drink coffee. Fortunately, Lydia is smart enough to remember those words and to look for their meanings in her father’s big dictionary.

 

 

> Caffeine
> 
> **noun** , _Chemistry, Pharmacology._
> 
> a white,crystalline, bitter alkaloid, C8H10N4O2, usually derived from coffee or tea: used in medicine chiefly as a nervous systemstimulant.

 

She still doesn’t understand the problem of a kid drinking coffee, so she looks for it on her dad’s computer – the one she’s not allowed to use. Bad calcium absorption, negative effects on growth, insomnia, upset stomach, headaches.  

Lydia is a smart child. She doesn’t want any of these collateral effects to happen to her. So she gives up coffee.

For now.

By the time she’s fifteen, coffee is her best friend.

* * *

 

Now in college, she had another best friend. An actual human best friend named Allison, who was just as much as in love with coffee as Lydia was. Allison’s the one who takes Lydia to her favorite coffee shop for the first time.

At fifteen, Lydia was addicted to brands. Prada. Louis Vuitton. Chanel. Dolce & Gabbana. Starbucks. The more popular they were, the happier she was.  

At twenty, not many things changed.  That’s why she wasn’t eager to just change her usual coffee place.

“I don’t understand why you insist on paying so much on a cup of coffee.” Allison said as she dragged her best friend across campus. “Starbucks doesn’t have the best coffee in the world.”

“It’s the best one I’ve tasted so, yes, they do.” Lydia rolls her eyes. “ _I_ don’t understand why you insist on going to these places, though. You can actually catch a disease in there.”

“Don’t be dramatic, this place is nice.” She says stopping in front of a small coffee shop. The place looked old, but Lydia knew it hadn’t been open for very long because she always walked around here going to her classes and she never noticed the coffee shop. The dark green paint looked intact and it was obvious they tried their best to make it presentable.

Lydia had to admit, it did look nice and clean. Since it was a new and small coffee shop in the middle of campus, it didn’t look crowded, and it was actually pretty comfy.

“Plus, the prices are great and the coffee is better than the ones you’ve tasted.”

“Not to mention that your boyfriend works here.” Allison smiled and pushed her in. Lydia looked around and was a little shocked, the place was nearly empty. There were just a few students in the back using their computers to do some essay, but they barely talked and the ambiance was surprisingly relaxing.

There was just one person behind the counter and he wasn’t paying any attention to anyone at all. He was too preoccupied writing on a paper to even notice that Allison and Lydia were in front of him.

“You know, it’s very rude to not pay attention to your customers,” Allison said with a trace of laughter in her voice. The boy didn’t even glance at her.

“Well, it is very rude to promise someone to make their boyfriend watch a movie, only to have sex instead.” He finally looked at her. “Do you have any idea how excited I was? I bought him a plastic lightsaber!”

The brunette laughed and Lydia noticed the guy in front of her. She definitely didn’t know him, which wasn’t weird. Lydia knew Scott and that was enough for her. But the way he mentioned Scott and how Allison acted around him, it did seem like they were pretty close friends, which bothered Lydia a little. Allison never mentioned him to her.

“I’m sorry, but when Scott saw the movie, he knew what was going on and he distracted me with sex.” Allison turned to Lydia. “Oh, this is Stiles, Scott’s best friend. Stiles, this is Lydia.”

He was a good looking guy. Brown hair, brown eyes, moles everywhere and a side smile that Lydia truly enjoyed. When he looked at her, his hands immediately ran through his messy hair and he blinked at least ten times before saying anything.  

“Nice to meet you,” his voice was a little deeper than when he was talking to Allison. “So, uh, are you girls going to order anything?”

“Yeah. You’re going to make the best coffee you have here for Lydia _and_ charge her a reasonable amount for it.” Allison didn’t even have to look back to know Lydia was rolling her eyes. Stiles only raised his eyebrows. “Lydia here has a big problem. She pays way too much for mediocre coffee and that needs to change.”

“Okay… What about you?”

“Ice tea.” He nodded. “We’ll be at our table.”  

They sat in the last table next to the window. So far, Lydia was fond of the place, but she’s not completely sold on it yet. When she goes to Starbucks, no matter how good the coffee is, she’s always bothered by how many people are there. It’s almost impossible to do her essays there; people were too loud and annoying for Lydia’s taste.

It was still chilly inside, so Lydia kept her jacket on. She took her notes out of her bag and handed them to Allison, who gave her a quiet groan.  

“Why can’t you give me this when we get home?” Allison looked at the paper and sighed. “It’s not like I’m going to read it right now.”

“I need your opinion, Allison. This is _your_ family. I can’t write something wrong about your family.”

“Yes, because I’m sure Lydia Martin, mathematics major who’s taking history of urban legends as an elective just to have some fun, is going to get some stupid story about her best friend’s family wrong.” She rolled her eyes. “I don’t want to read something about how lame my family was.”

“It’s not lame!” There was a trace of laughter in her voice as Stiles approached and put the drinks in front of them. “Your family was famous for hunting and killing a werewolf in France. I mean, I’m not saying that it’s real, but…”

“Of course it’s real!” Stiles said making both girls look at him. “Look, there’s a lot of proof that werewolves are real, just like a lot of other creatures that people believe are not real.”

“You’re in McKinnon’s class too?” Lydia questioned, surprised. It wasn’t like she did believe in every single thing they said, but she was sure there was a reason many stories about the supernatural existed. He started to clean the table near them.

“Nah, I’m just an enthusiast.” He shrugged. “I’m majoring in criminal law.”

“Impressive.”

“What about you? Are you a political science major like Allison?”

“Nah, Lydia is super smart” Allison answered for her.  

“Don’t say it like you’re not, Miss ‘ _I’ll change the world someday_ ’” Allison rolled her eyes. “I’m majoring in Mathematics.” Stiles stopped what he was doing and looked at her impressed. Lydia loved the look people got whenever they found out what she was majoring in. Most didn’t believe her and guessed she was a fashion major by the way she dressed. Lydia even knew what he was going to ask next.  

“Mathematics? You must be a fucking genius.” Allison grinned at her friend as she looked surprised. That was new. Everybody asked the same question. They always asked if she had something to prove. If she was thinking about changing to something easier later.  If her father was the one who made her do it.

“Oh, she is. Not only in math, but _everything_.”

“So is it possible that I’m serving coffee to the next Nobel Prize winner?” Stiles put a hand on his chest and acted like he was getting emotional. “I’m _honored_!”

“Field’s Medal,” Lydia corrected him. “There’s no Nobel Prize for Mathematics. So I’ll be winning the Field’s Medal. You _should_ be honored.”

Stiles didn’t get the chance to say anything when someone called him to take their order, but the look in his face was pure amazement. He clearly didn’t expect that kind of answer, and Lydia was glad she was the one who caused that.

She took a sip of her coffee and looked at Allison. She was right. This was better coffee than Starbucks, and the place was just right for her to come and order whenever she wanted. She noticed Allison hadn’t touched her ice tea and was looking at her with a funny face.

“What?”

“What’s up with all the flirting?” Lydia’s eyes widened. “Oh, c’mon Lydia! This right here was you _flirting_ with Stiles!”

“Did you hit your head when we got in?” She rolled her eyes and Lydia discretely pointed to Stiles. “He’s nice but does he look like my type? At all?”

Both looked at Stiles, who was now wiping the entrance. He wasn’t bad looking. Stiles was tall, fit and attractive, but he looked nothing like the guys Lydia usually went out with. Plus, he was friends with Allison’s boyfriend and going out with him would make things uncomfortable for the couple if it didn’t work out.

“Well, no. But that’s good, don’t you think?”

“What do you mean?”

“You always date the same kind of men and it always ends the same way.” She shrugged. “Maybe it’s time to have a change… I happen to know that Stiles is single.”

“Not interested.” Before Allison could insist, Lydia touched her hand fondly. “By the way, you were right. This coffee is pretty great.”

* * *

 

The next time Lydia went to the coffee shop, she was alone. Just like the last time, it was almost empty and she couldn’t be happier about it. The few people who were there – a couple of girls quietly talking and a professor grading some papers – were way too immersed in  their own business to bother her. Stiles wasn’t aware of her presence either, he was busy organizing some mugs and plates in the washing machine to notice her approaching the counter.

The first thing that got Lydia’s attention was his shirt. Most of it was covered by a big brown apron, but she could still see the horrible color and a drawing of one of Star Wars’ characters – Chewbacca. She rolled her eyes at that.

“You actually are obsessed with Star Wars, aren’t you?”

“Well, it’s only the best movie ever!” He assured not even glancing at her. As soon as he turned around and noticed with whom he was talking to, his face got bright red and a grin appeared in his lips. “You came back.”

“I did.”

“And without Allison” He observed. She rolled her eyes again but nodded. “So does that mean that my coffee is actually better than Starbucks’?”

“Fishing for compliments?” His grin grows wider. “Now that’s just sad.”

“What can I say? It’s not every day that we beat Starbucks quality.” Stiles leans on the counter and Lydia is able to see some muscles on his arms. “So what’s it gonna be?”

“The same coffee you made me the other day.” She reached for her purse and grabbed her phone.

“Okay then. I’ll bring it to your table as soon as it’s ready.” Lydia smiled and went to the last table near the windows. She took everything she needed to do her essay and immediately started to type.

As soon as she opened her computer, her mind blocked everything else out. There was no one around her; there was no noise, there was nothing. Her mind was clear and her fingers automatically started to type her paper. She sometimes glanced at the book right next to her to get spelling right, but nothing took her mind off her work.

That was the beauty of her mind, she always thought. Whenever she was focused on something – no matter if it was important or not, as long as she had her mind set on it – the world disappeared.  

She continued to work like this for almost an hour when Stiles stopped in front of her with another cup of coffee – one she didn’t ask for.

“You realize you barely blink when you’re that focused, right?”

“It’s not polite to stare,” Lydia accepted the coffee and took a long sip. “It’s kind of creepy, actually.”

“Well, you’re the only person here so it’s not like I have a bunch of other tables to serve.” He sat in front of her. “What are you working on?”

“My urban legend paper. It’s about Allison’s family back in the 18th century and how her family became famous for hunting and killing a werewolf in France.”

She started to tell him all about her friend’s family history and showing him pictures of _La Bete du Gevaudan._ The amount of information she told him in the next five minutes was so precise that he wondered if she wrote the book about it herself. When Lydia realized that she had been speaking for a while about something Stiles never even asked about, she quickly finished the subject.

Stiles was blown away by Lydia. The last time she was there, it was her beauty that got her in his mind. He couldn’t think about any girl that he ever met in his life that looked half as pretty as she was. But this time… This time he was mesmerized by her brain. When Allison told him she was majoring in Mathematics, he was truly impressed. Now hearing her talk about a subject not even related to her major, so passionately and with such enthusiasm, Stiles knew that she was forever sealed in his brain as the smartest person he had ever met.

He was basically in love with her.

“I realize you didn’t ask about it,” She apologized.

“Are you kidding? I’m glad you did, this is amazing!” Lydia smiled slightly. “But if you’re majoring in mathematics, why are you…”

“Taking a class that has nothing to do with it?” He nodded. “Honestly? I was bored.”

“You got bored with your major?”

“ _No,_ ” Lydia rolled her eyes like that was the most absurd thing ever. “I was bored one day and decided that I wanted to take some random class just for fun. This one was my choice.”

Stiles blinked.  

“You do realize there are parties or bars or movies that are made to have fun, right?” He banged the table, making Lydia jump. He didn’t seem to notice. “I’m taking you to your first bar ever today.”

“Oh my God, do I look like I never went to a bar in my whole life?” Stiles didn’t answer. Anything he said might cause a problem. “And I can’t go out today, I have a date.”

_Shit_ he thought.

“Oh. Okay then.” There was an awkward silence and Stiles didn’t know what to do. Luckily a customer arrived, making him stand up awkwardly. “Sorry to interrupt by the way. The coffee is on the house.”

* * *

 

Lydia became a regular from that day on. Every chance she had she’d stop by to grab a cup of coffee, finish a paper or just hang out while waiting for Allison. She liked Stiles’ company and enjoyed seeing the whole Stiles and Scott dynamic when both were sharing a shift.  

It got to a point where even before she asked, Stiles had her order done and always threw some sort of new pastry he had prepared for her to take to one of her classes. It had become a game for them, to challenge Lydia in trying everything they had in the coffee shop.

Since it was Stiles who made most of the pastries, he always invented something new to offer her after she had tasted all the regular ones.  

“What the hell is that?” Lydia asked after the first bite. “That’s disgusting.”

“It’s a deep-fried candy bar,” Stiles was leaning against the counter looking at her disgusted face. “I found it online. It’s Scottish.”

“It’s… not the best thing ever and it looks horrible.” Lydia put it back on the plate in front of her and cleaned her hands with some napkins nearby. “So, how was your test?”

“Fine, I guess. It’d be better if Isaac hadn’t brought a girl home and kept making noises the whole night.” She held back a smile. “Why can’t he be like Scott and have the courtesy of buying me quality ear plugs?”

“Well, you don’t deserve it” Stiles glared at her.  

“You’re a great friend, honestly.” Lydia took another sip of her coffee. Stiles looked at her for a few more seconds before asking what he was dying to ask since the second she stepped in the place. “So… How was your date?”

There was a minute of silence while she pondered the question. She didn’t feel very comfortable talking about something so intimate to her with someone she barely knew. Allison was her only true friend and the one she shared everything with, but Stiles was becoming a close friend faster than she anticipated.  

The fact was that she didn’t know how the date really went. He was definitely hot and just her type, but in general? She couldn’t remember a single topic of conversation they had. Lydia remembered the sex quite well though.  

Stiles waited patiently. He knew she wasn’t going to give a complex answer, but he was hoping that she was going to say that it sucked and that she'd never see him again. It was her eighth date (not that he was counting) with the same guy. Allison told him everything about the guy Lydia was seeing.

_Jackson_.

That was the stupidest name he'd ever heard.

(He knew that it was pretty ironic coming from him. His name was Mieczyslaw, for the love of God. But still, he stood by what he said. Jackson was the stupidest name he'd ever heard.)

Allison didn’t like him either. She told him that he was an asshole that was going to break Lydia's heart. He played football and was on a scholarship for it – even though he didn’t need it. According to her, he was the typical spoiled guy that had everything he wanted and paid to make sure he got it.

Neither of them knew what Lydia saw in him.

“It was…. Interesting.” Lydia didn’t go further and it kind of bothered Stiles, but he didn’t push it. Instead, he just smiled and picked up the food she refused to eat earlier and put it away. While he was with another customer, Lydia’s phone vibrated in her purse. “Hello? Oh, hi Jackson.”

Stiles didn’t want to eavesdrop on her conversation, he truly didn’t. But he couldn’t help being strategically close to her while grabbing some pastries for his customer. Stiles sure didn’t take longer than necessary choosing the best one they had so he could listen to their conversation.

But he did. And he honestly felt bad that he accidently heard her agreeing on meeting him in a club nearby.

She doesn’t mention anything to him. He doesn’t ask.

 

 

It has been officially one week since Lydia stepped into the coffee shop.

Stiles thinks she’s dead.

He knows she’s not. When Allison comes over on the third day, she mentions that Lydia is back at Starbucks. Mostly because Jackson wants to go there and, apparently, where Jackson goes, Lydia goes.

He still expects her though. She always does her papers in there and always stops to say hi to him once in awhile.

But she doesn’t.

She doesn’t even answer the texts he sends her.

* * *

 

Stiles sees her one day before he opens the place. She’s on the other side of the street talking on the phone while looking for something in her purse. She looks gorgeous. Her beautiful hair is in a tight ponytail and she’s wearing a nice white dress with blue flowers distributed all over it and golden heels. She doesn’t notice him at all; she’s too focused on her purse.  

Stiles marches in her direction and waits patiently in front of her for her to look up. Not two minutes later, when she turns her phone off, finds what apparently was a lipstick and looks up, jumping in surprise.

“Jesus!” Lydia puts a hand on her chest.  

“Nah, just me.” He ignores the stare she’s giving him and smiles. “Hi!”

“What the hell are you doing? Scaring me like that!”

“How was I supposed to know you scare easily?! I never see you anymore.”

Lydia doesn’t say anything and she looks almost like she’s… uncomfortable.

“Yeah… I just… got super busy.” She doesn’t meet his eyes. “How are you doing?”

“Now that I lost my only client?” This time she rolls her eyes but with a smile on her lips. “Almost like I might lose my house now that I can’t pay.”

“Oh don’t be so dramatic. I know Allison still goes there, so you still have some money.”

“You'd think so. But Scott works here too and accepts kisses for payment. And before you ask, he’s the only one who gets to receive her payment.”

“You have no idea how bad I feel for you.”

“You can tell me while I set things up in there.” He points to the coffee house. “I make your coffee and you get to try my first batch of brownies.”

“I’d love to, but…” Her phone rang interrupting her. She picked up and Stiles couldn’t help but notice how her face dropped when she saw who was calling. Still, she put a fake smile on her face and answered. “ _Yes_ , Jackson?”

It was impossible to not hear him. He was screaming on the other side. Lydia had to pull the phone away from her ear and look the other way so Stiles couldn’t see her face as she talked to him.

The conversation wasn’t long. For what he could hear, Jackson was mad at her for getting out of his house when he was asleep. That was the most idiotic motive for a discussion, but there he was, screaming his lungs off for it. After a few minutes, the conversation was over and Lydia looked at him, like nothing had happened.

“As I was saying, I’d love to come in, but I have to meet Allison. We’re going shopping.”

“At least let me make you some coffee… You look like you can use some.” She opened her mouth to say no, but he grabbed her shoulders and started to walk with her towards the coffee shop. “C’mon… I know that you cheated on me with Starbucks, Allison told me all about it, but you can’t deny me this.”

“But Allison…”

“She slept at my place last night, she’ll be late, believe me.”

Being the first and only customer in the coffee shop with Stiles, was weird. Not that she hadn’t been in that situation before, she was always the last one to leave when he was closing, but this was different.

Things weren’t going well with Jackson, and she knew  Allison shared some stuff about them to Stiles. The fact that he was still a ray of sunshine near her and was clearly trying to comfort her made her heart warm up.

“So, did you finish your paper?” He asked while making coffee.

“Yeah, I even made Allison read it before I turned it in. She finally got interested in her own history.”

“Maybe you can bring her to show and tell for extra credits.” He smirked sarcastically. “You know, as the living Argent that is secretly a werewolf hunter.”

“Oh yeah, she’d love to be known as that.” She rolled her eyes as she looked to the pastries displayed.

“You should do an interview with her or her family about it, you know.” Stiles leaned on the counter as he waited for the coffee to be ready. He followed Lydia’s gaze to the pastries and got her one muffin. “For your next paper.”

“That’s a good idea. But I dropped out of the class.”

Stiles blinked. “What?”

“Yeah, I didn’t have enough time to invest in that class. Plus, it’s not what I’m majoring in, so it’s not a big deal or anything.”

“What about your idea of having fun? I thought this was to relieve the stress and for your own enjoyment.” He frowned. “You loved that class.”

“Well, now I have a boyfriend whose practices are the same time as that class, so I can’t do both.”

Stiles remained quiet for a whole minute, just staring at Lydia. He could not believe what he was hearing.

“You’re fucking kidding me, right?” Lydia raised her eyebrows surprised. “You’re telling me that you dropped out of a class because your boyfriend’s practice was at the same time?”

“Jackson likes when I watch him play. It’s not a big deal, you know.” She rolled her eyes biting her muffin. “You sound just like Allison.”

“I’m glad I do, because if your best friend is saying the same thing, it means that you’ve gone mental.” Stiles turned around to grab the coffee pot.

“Excuse me?” Her voice was a little pitched. “Who the fuck do you think you are to talk to me like that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I’m just a friend that thinks you’re fucking mental for dropping out a class to watch a stupid jock practice.” He put the mug down before he dropped it. “The same stupid guy that calls you screaming because you left his place. What? You’re his hostage now? Does he own you?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking abou-“

“Oh, I do. According to Allison, you can’t do anything by yourself anymore. Go out with her, go to parties, and even come here! Because your stupid boyfriend wants to go to another place and you’re not allowed to say no to him, right?”

“That’s not…” She stopped talking when she noticed a customer entering. Lydia took a deep breath and grabbed her purse. “You’re not my friend and you have absolutely no right to meddle in my life.” She said before she stormed out.

After that day, Lydia didn’t come back.

* * *

 

Stiles was aware he was out of line. He felt bad the moment the words left his mouth. Not for what he said, but because of her expression. However, everything was done, there was no turning back now.

He knew he wasn’t _that_ close to Lydia, not like Allison was, but in the moment he thought it would be a good idea for her to listen to someone who wouldn’t be afraid to say it as it was. Allison clearly wasn’t getting anywhere with her, so why not give it a shot?

But what happened was the opposite. According to Allison, she had shut down for good. Every time she tried to bring up the subject or just ask how things were going, she changed the subject rudely or refused to speak about it. Even Scott, who met the guy, tried to subtly give her advice, but all that happened was Lydia making a rude remark towards his relationship with Allison.

She didn’t want to talk about her unhappy and abusive relationship. She didn’t want help to get out of it. Her friends didn’t even recognize her anymore. Stiles wasn’t even sure she recognized herself.

Stiles tried to call her many times, hoping to make amends, but it was all in vain. He tried through Allison, but all he found out was they were barely speaking for a week now, after a big fight they had. Eventually, he discovered she had changed her number. This was just too much.

Lydia hated the situation as much as Stiles did. Everything in her life was confusing and different and Lydia Martin didn’t do confusing and different. She did excellency. She handled the situations, she managed them.

But the worst part of it all was that she was _wrong_. She was wrong on backing away from her friends, wrong for letting the relationship get that far and wrong for not fighting for everything she believed in.

Being with Jackson wasn’t easy. It took too much out of her. In the beginning it wasn’t noticeable. It was just little parts that she didn’t miss too much, but as the relationship progressed, those little parts became big noticeable ones. She was dropping out of classes, spending less time at her studies, hanging out with Allison less and having little to no choice on her every-day decisions.

The fight with Allison was the last straw. Her friend was just trying to take care of her and to make sure she was okay, but Lydia couldn’t admit – not out loud and not to herself – that all she wanted to do was scream. She didn’t want to be wrong about choosing Jackson and didn’t want to hear anybody else say the same thing. So she picked a fight with her best friend and when things got out of control, it was too late. Lydia stormed out of the apartment and spent the next week at Jackson’s place.

Now she was just alone. No best friend. No coffee shop friend. No one but Jackson. And even though she loved her boyfriend, she missed being around other people that weren’t him or his friends.

She missed her home.

She missed Allison.

She missed Stiles.

* * *

 

When Lydia entered the coffee shop that morning, she barely recognized the place.

For the first time since she stepped foot in there, the place was full. Not just filling all the tables, but also with a big line to order coffee.

The place hadn’t changed that much. Maybe it was repainted and had a new set of tables, but it looked exactly the same. She noticed that there were a lot of new employees walking around filling empty coffee mugs or taking new orders and, for a moment, she considered the fact that Stiles might not work there anymore.

The first thing she sees when she looks at the counter’s direction is Stiles. He’s focused on a customer that, apparently, is making a big order, considering how fast he’s writing it down. He looked exactly the same, wearing the same apron, the usual star wars pun related shirt – something with Princess Leia this time – and old jeans that looked good on him.

Stiles still didn’t see her, but someone else did. Scott, who was behind him making coffee, offered a big smile to her. She smiled back. Lydia truly missed Scott. He was the one to go to when everything felt like crap and you needed someone to make you feel better. Scott was the type of person that would do his best to make someone smile. Lydia was lucky that he didn’t hold a grudge. Allison was even luckier for having him in her life.

Scott looked at Stiles and pointed at him, but she shook her head. She needed to talk to him without Scott’s help. So she entered the line.

It took almost eight minutes for her to get in the front. Stiles didn’t see her until the last minute – gladly a large man was in front of her, blocking his view and his chance to run away.

“Hey, what can I get you?” He was still writing something when she made it to first in line. Lydia looked at Scott one more time and after receiving another reassuring smile, she cleared her throat.

“Hey.”

Stiles slowly looked up, eyes looking at her surprised. He was silent for a few seconds just looking at her. When he spoke, his voice was pure surprise.

“Lydia.”  

There was an awkward pause and Lydia had no idea on how to make things better. She looked around the place and smiled slightly.

“You painted...” She looks at him again. “It looks nice.”

“Yeah.”

“Excuse me, if you two are going to chit chat, please do it on your own time.” A woman behind Lydia said looking between them. “Don’t care if she’s your long lost love or something like that. I need to get my coffee and you need to get paid, so…”

“Yeah. Right. Sorry.” Stiles apologized, writing something on his paper and giving it to Scott. One of the new employees came behind the counter and grabbed the pad in Stiles hand. “Hey!”

“You two go talk and I’ll handle things here.” She pushes Stiles out of her way and starts talking with the next customer.

They walk to a recently vacated table and sit down across from each other. Lydia truly has no idea how to speak with him anymore. Her mind is working overtime trying to not make this awkward or uncomfortable for either of them, but it’s already happening. She thinks about what to say first: she broke up with Jackson, she was wrong, she’s sorry she left things the way she did, she misses him.

But Stiles beat her to it.

“Lydia, I’m sorry.” That takes her by surprise.

“What? Why?”

“The way I talked to you that day… The things I said…” He sighed. “I should’ve handled it better and…”

“No, Stiles.” She reached for his hand, holding it. “Everything you said was exactly what I needed to hear. It was all true; I was the one who refused to accept it. I should be apologizing, not you.”

He sighed, his grasp becoming tighter and Lydia felt grateful for having him here, still caring for her. The way he looked at her with those warm brown eyes made her feel safe and cared for, and that was something she didn’t feel often in her life.

It wasn’t the way Allison looked at her. Her friend loved Lydia with all her heart, but Lydia could tell there was a big difference between the way Allison looked at her and the way Stiles did. Maybe it was the best friend thing, she thought. Maybe she wasn’t used to the way Stiles acted around her because she never had another friend besides Allison. That feeling was new, but not unusual for other people.

But that didn’t explain why Lydia was so eager to come today to apologize to Stiles and let him know she broke up with Jackson. Any other person with the same level of friendship she had with Stiles would’ve just come back to the coffee house and acted like nothing happened. She didn’t know why she chose to act this way.

Stiles knew why he chose to act the way he did the last time Lydia was there. Everybody but Lydia knew why. It was the same reason why he didn’t feel better when she apologized and why he was still worried about her being around Jackson.

She just didn’t know.

(To be fair, she also didn’t know she felt something for him.)

“A super-hot very large cup of coffee for you.” The waitress that took Stiles’ place earlier put what seemed to be her usual in front of her. “And water for your nerves, Stiles”

“Oh wow, thank you Kira. You can go now.” He smiled sarcastically at her as she left. He then looked back at Lydia. “I hope you don’t mind. I ordered for you.”

“You still remember my order.” She mumbled before having a sip. “So… How did this place get so popular?”

“Uh, Kira actually.” They looked to the Asian woman taking orders from another table. “She moved to the apartment next to ours with her girlfriend and mentioned she needed a job, so Scott hired her. When she saw how sad and pathetic this place was, her words not mine, she made some fliers, posted pictures online and made some discount system and we keep getting customers.”

“She seems... way smarter than you two for not thinking of that sooner.”

“Excuse me; I was perfectly fine just getting money from you.” Stiles smiled before drinking his water. “So… Now that you made amends with me and Allison… What are your plans now?”

“Well, I broke up with Jackson.” He straightens in his chair. “I came back to the classes I dropped out, so you’ll see me more often than before.”

“Oh. Okay.” He cleared his throat. “Can I ask why you were with him in the first place? I know it’s none of my business but…”

“No, that’s fine.” She looked down at her coffee. “He was sweet and charming in the beginning. Hot, also.” Stiles rolled his eyes and leaned back to his seat. “But then he started to change and I thought it was because of me and my classes, never having time for him… So I tried to make him come back to the person I met and…”

“Fell in love with?” He guessed. She didn’t answer it and he didn’t push it. “Lydia, that’s okay. You can’t blame yourself for any of this. He was the one who fucked things up, not you.”

“Thank you.” She looked at him. “I needed to hear that it wasn’t my fault.”

“I’m just glad you’re better now.”

“But I’m not.” She closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath. “I hated the person I was becoming and that I didn’t have you or Allison to talk to. I came home and did my best to avoid her at all costs. I couldn’t even look at her without feeling embarrassed for having feelings for him.”

“You don’t have to be.” He smiled reassuringly. “Lydia Martin, you’re going to be just fine.”

They sat in silence just looking at each other for a while, before Lydia’s phone made a noise.

“Oh, it’s Allison.” She read the text, still with a smile on her face and looked up. “I have to go. We’re having girl’s night.”

She let go of his hand slowly and grabbed her purse, standing up. Stiles followed her movement.

“Yeah… Have fun tonight then.”

“I will.” She gave him a small kiss on his cheek and smiled once more. “See you tomorrow”

And, in fact, he did.

* * *

 

It was a quiet night and Stiles was bored out of his mind. It was way passed the closing time, but he was still there. Almost sleeping. Starving. In need of a shower.

But he couldn’t go home yet. Even though the place was already closed, he wasn’t alone.

The only person still there was Lydia, typing furiously on her computer, barely blinking. He had filled her mug with coffee at least five times in the past few hours and she barely acknowledged his presence then, let alone the time.

He didn’t mind much that she was the only reason why he couldn’t go home. The essay she was working on was worth half of her grade and he really didn’t want to get in the way of her productivity.

But on the other hand, he was _so tired_.

Luckily, he heard her mutter a ‘finally’ under her breath and close her eyes for a moment. He approached her table and sat across from her.

“You look like shit.”

“Did you know that honesty is overrated?” She muttered still with her eyes closed. “Tell me, if I open my eyes, will I be home in my pj’s?”

“Nah, you’ll be in a crappy coffee house facing me, who looks as shitty as you.” She smiled and opened her eyes. “How’s your paper?”

“Finished, thank God. And just in time for…” Her eyes widened when she saw the time. “Holy shit, is it this late? It’s way past the close time, why didn’t you tell me?”

“I’m sorry, have you met you?” She rose her eyebrow. “Whenever someone dares to interrupt you while you’re concentrated, you pretty much murder them with just a look.”

“Still. You didn’t have to wait for me to go home.” She started to gather her stuff. “God, Allison will kill me for not letting her know I’d be so late.”

“I really don’t mind, so don’t worry.” Stiles said handing her book to her. “And I texted Allison that you were still here and that I’d walk you home.”

“Great! You can help me with my books.” She said putting a pile of books on his arms and grabbing her purse. “Let’s go.”

The walk to Lydia’s place was calm. There wasn’t a lot of people in the streets that evening, so they got to talk for the most part of it.

“So, how’s your new classes?” Stiles asked looking at her. “Busy, I imagine.”

“They’re amazing. I got this professor that actually worked for NASA for almost thirty years and she’s just brilliant. And she’s the only female professor I have.”

“I’m guessing she’s also your favorite.” He smirked. “Maybe she can help you with everything you need to know to be the next female teacher in the department, someday.”

“Only after I win my Fields Medal.”

“Well, _of course_.” Stiles rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. “But that’s a given. By the way, when you thank me on your speech, please call me Mr. Stilinski.”

Now it was Lydia’s time to roll her eyes with a smile on her face.

“Oh, so I’m thanking you in my speech?” Her face was pure amusement. “Very interesting.”

“Excuse me, I’m the only reason you have enough money and energy to study all day. I expect a monologue about my contributions to your career!”

Lydia laughed loudly. Stiles smiled looking at her. One of his favorite things about Lydia was her laugh. She didn’t do it very often, but when she did, it was like hearing the singing of angels.

“You’re right. I mean, I could talk about my dreams, thank my family and friends, say that I hope that more girls get interested in fields dominated by men.” They turned right, heading down Lydia’s street. Their pace got considerably slower. “But that’d be a waste. I _have to_ thank the coffee shop guy that made me a horrible fried candy bar once.”

“See, you get it!”

They had become closer in the past few weeks and it got to a point where the flirting was pretty noticeable to everyone around them, even though they denied it.

“So here we are.” He said stopping in front of her building. “Do you have the key?”

“Yeah,” Lydia turned to her purse and grabbed her keys. “Thanks for walking me home.”

“Nah, not a problem.” He handed her the books he was holding and scratched the back of his head. “So… I think I’m going to go…”

“Stiles, wait.” Lydia put her books on the entrance of the building and looked at him.

“Sure, what’s up?”

“What are you doing Friday night?”

“Uh… I don’t know. I think Scott is going out with Allison so probably nothing.” He shrugged. “Why?”

“Would you like to go on a date with me this Friday?” She asked confidently. Stiles blushed instantly and started to stutter.

“What?”

“A date. With me. This Friday.” She repeated. “So?”

“Oh… You’re… You’re asking me… this Friday? A date? You and I on a date this Friday? This Friday a date? With you? And me?” Lydia held in a smile and waited for an answer. “You’re asking… Holy shit, yes. I mean” He cleared his throat and smiled. “Yes. I’d love to.”

“Great. I’ll text you later then.”

Stiles walked home with a huge smile on his face that night.

* * *

 

“Okay. This is the one. This is it. I’m ready.” Stiles said turning in Scott’s direction with a smile. “What do you think, Scotty?”

Scott and Stiles had left earlier from the coffee shop to help Stiles get ready for his date. Everybody over there was cheering and wishing him good luck. Scott thought he was exaggerating on the whole thing, but he went through with it, since Stiles was his best friend.

Honestly, he was regretting it right now.

It had been over three hours since Stiles started to get ready. It had been over three hours since Stiles tried his entire wardrobe over and over again to make sure he was getting the right clothes to go out with Lydia. It had been over three hours since Scott had lost his patience.

“You look great,” He replied not even bothering to look up from his phone. “Can we go now?”

“Yeah… I guess we can.” This time, Scott looked at him. Stiles’ clothes were the same ones he tried on at least five times. He looked nice, but way too nervous for Scott’s taste. Stiles was starting to regret telling Lydia he’d planned the date. Since then, he got put under so much stress that Scott was surprised they finally made it to the night. “I mean… Unless… This isn’t too much, is it?”

“Oh my God,” Scott rolled his eyes and jumped off the bed. “Stiles, you look fine. You can’t possibly find a new outfit better than this. Please, let’s just go get the girls.”

“I just…” Stiles sighed and sat in Scott’s previous spot. “I like Lydia, and this needs to be great. She doesn’t date people like me. I definitely don’t date people like her. It’s like it’s meant to fail, horribly.”

“Yeah, but… Neither of those relationships worked. Maybe this one will.”

“Yeah… Thanks buddy,” Stiles said hugging him. And in that exact moment, Scott and Stiles’ other roommate, Isaac, chose to enter the room. He stopped a few feet away from them and raised an eyebrow.

“Wow, now I know why you came home earlier.” The pair stopped hugging and looked at him. “What would Allison say?”

Scott merely rolled his eyes, while Stiles glared at him, already annoyed with his presence.

“No. You’re not allowed in here. There’s even a sign on my door specifying you’re not allowed to cross the threshold. You noticed what you did?” Stiles asked heavily gesturing his hands at his direction. “You crossed the threshold!”

“Wow, did Lydia really get interested in _you?”_ Isaac asked mockingly. “Because I saw her picture and I believe I’m more her type than you.”

“I will literally suffocate you with your stupid scarf if you don’t leave right now.” Stiles stared at him. Isaac turned to Scott, who was back looking at his phone.

“Scott, your mom is on the phone,” As Scott stepped out of the room, Isaac walked to the bed and sat on it, ignoring Stiles’ glare. “Did you get the address of the place I sent you?”

“I did. This better not be a prank, Isaac. I really like Lydia.”

“I know you do. You’re not as quiet as you think you are when you’re in the shower.” Stiles blushed, but didn’t say anything. He just looked at the mirror one more time. He looked nice. Black jeans, blue shirt and black jacket. Casual, but not too much.

He was very nervous, but Scott had done his best to try and calm him down and that’s what Stiles was thinking at that moment. She asked him out. They were great friends. Everybody thought it was obvious they had a thing for each other. He just needed to take a deep breath.

“You’re going to do great Stiles.” He said under his breath, hoping Isaac wouldn’t hear it. Unfortunately, he did.

“Yeah, you’re going to do just fine, tiger.” A pretentious smirk was on his lips. “She won’t even know what hit her.”

“Oh my God, Isaac. Just shut up and leave!”

“Okay, okay…” He stood up and headed to the door, stopping one last time. “Just… Are you sure you’re going to wear _that_?”

Stiles looked at the mirror again and all his confidence vanished.

“ _Scott!”_

* * *

 

Lydia was the exact opposite of Stiles at that moment. She wasn’t nervous. She wasn’t freaking out. She was the exact definition of calmness. Which wasn’t something that common.

But the whole reason for her being this way was Allison. Having her best friend helping her get ready for a date, like they were 15 all over again, was reassuring.

“So, what happened with the whole ‘he’s not my type’ thing?”

“Is that… Is that your way of saying you were right?” She looked at her, with a smile on her lips, through the mirror.

“Well, I _was_ right.” Lydia rolled her eyes as Allison kept fixing her hair. “I’m glad that you’re doing this.”

“Me too.” Allison’s phone rang and she stopped working on Lydia’s hair. “It’s Scott. He says they’re on their way.”

“Great.” She said standing up and looking at her friend. “You look lovely.”

“Nobody cares about me. _You're_ the one who's going to kill Stiles with that look.”

In fact she was. Lydia was wearing the most beautiful dress she owned. It was a simple red dress that went just a little above her knees and had a golden belt on her waist that complemented her look. Her hair was full of curls that went all the way to the middle of her back.

She smiled and grabbed her shoes, heading to the living room and being followed by Allison.

“So, should we have a plan or something?” the brunette asked. “You know, what house we go to if we get lucky. I mean, I know what will happen at the end of my night. The question here is what will happen at the end of yours.”

“This is our first date, Allison. Nothing is going to happen.”

“When have I heard that before? Oh yeah, you.” Lydia rolled her eyes and grabbed her purse to make sure everything she needed was there. “After every first date you went on.”

“You’re the one who said that Stiles is different from all my previous dates.” A smirk appeared on her lips. “So Stiles won’t get lucky because of you.”

Allison stayed in silence for a while.

“Please don’t tell him that.”

After a few minutes in silence, they heard a few voices coming from the other side of the door. It was loud whispers and the girls quickly figured out it was the boys. Allison headed to the door to open it, but hesitated when she heard what they were talking about. She gestured for Lydia to come near the door with her.

_“Scott, I look ridiculous!” Stiles whispered desperately. “Let me go home and change.”_

_“You spent the last three hours changing. You don’t own better clothes than these!”_

_“You don’t know that. If I remember correctly, your mom bought a nice shirt for me on my birthday.”_

_“IT’S THE ONE YOU’RE WEARING!”_

The girls held in a laugh and Lydia decided it was time to surprise them. Fixing her hair one last time, she opened the door. Both of them, still in the middle of their argument, stopped and looked at her slowly. Stiles quickly turned red and adjusted his posture, clearing his throat. Scott just smiled and kissed her cheek before entering the apartment.

“Hi” She greeted him. Stiles was still red and it only deepened when he focused completely on Lydia. His mouth opened slowly in shock, admiring how beautiful she was. It took him a moment to realize she spoke to him. “Stiles?”

“What… Oh, hi!” He ran his hand on his hair, nervously. “Sorry, you just look… breathtaking.”

Lydia’s smile widened.

“Thank you. You don’t look bad yourself.” When she said that, Stiles’ whole body relaxed. “Of course, that’s an odd choice of shirt, if you don’t mind me saying.”

“I knew it! Shit. This is all Scott’s fault.” He looked desperate. “uh, wait right here while I go back to my place and…”

“Stiles. I’m kidding.” He stopped talking. “I think you look great.”

“You do?” She nods and Stiles relaxes once again. He offers his arm to her. “Shall we?”

Lydia holds his arm gladly. “Let's go.”

* * *

 

The place Stiles chose was a small café a few minutes away from Lydia’s apartment. Even though it was close, Stiles decided to do the whole date thing right, driving her there. Even if the whole time he was driving, he was praying that his jeep wouldn’t break down. Gladly, it didn’t.

Lydia found the place quite charming. It was small and romantic, with every table having their own set of candles and a couple of roses. They quickly were directed to their table.

“This place is very beautiful.” Stiles said looking around, impressed. Lydia raised her eyebrows.

“Yes it is. But why are you so surprised about it?”

“Oh. I asked Isaac about a nice place to take you and he recommended me this one.” He looked around once more. “I just… Didn't expect that he’d actually help me.”

“I don’t understand why you live together if you don’t seem to like him very much.”

A waiter came with  the wine menu, stopping Stiles from answering. He left Lydia to choose it, since he wasn’t a big consumer of wine.

“When Scott and I moved here and went apartment hunting, Isaac let us crash at his place. So a year later, when his girlfriend broke up with him and kicked him out of there, Scott invited him to move in with us.” He shrugged.

“So he’s more Scott’s friend than yours.” He nodded. “Well, he seems nice enough to recommend this place to you.”

“You sound like Scott.” Once again they were interrupted by the waiter bringing the wine. He also handed them the menu and it didn’t take long for them to decide what to eat. “He actually used this to show how Isaac and I really want to be friends but are too stubborn to admit it.”

“Is that really the case?”

“The thing about me and Isaac is that we work better annoying each other all the time. It’s not that I hate him. I just… Don’t like him enough as a friend. ‘Specially after he offended my jeep.”

“Yeah, you have an... interesting choice of car there.” Lydia drank her wine.

“Yeah, I’ve had it since I was sixteen, but it belonged to my mom.” He looked to his wine, still untouched. “My dad didn’t have the heart to sell it after she died, so I got it.”

“I’m so sorry about your mom. How old were you?”

“Eight. She was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.” His eyes never left the glass of wine. “You basically have neuronal loss and it causes change of personality and, in her case, lots of delusional moments.”

“I’m sorry.” Her hands were holding his firmly. “I shouldn’t have asked.” Stiles smiled slightly and looked at her.

“Nah… It’s just… Not what I thought we were going to talk about it on the first date.”

“Well, I can tell you about a horrible event in my life to make it even?” Stiles smiled. “The awkwardness can be mutual. What do you think?”

“Fair enough.”

“My parents divorced when I was fifteen. But way before it happened, they were unhappy with each other. Lots of fights and times where my dad didn’t even come home. When I was about eleven, I found out that he was cheating on my mom with one of her close friends and that just about destroyed both of us.” She had a sarcastic smile on her lips. “When divorce was presented to them, the fighting became bigger, because of the whole custody thing. My dad didn’t care much about it, but he wanted to take something away from my mom. So he kept putting me into situations where I had to choose sides and it was fucking horrible.”

“Wow, that’s awful.”

“Yeah. And I became Lydia Martin, child of divorce, broken inside, and hated by a father who moved away and started a new family.”

“I’m Stiles Stilinski, haunted by the ghost of his mother and, for a brief period, a drunk father.”

“We make quite a pair.”

“We sure do.”

The rest of the date goes pretty smoothly. They don’t talk about dark subjects anymore, instead focusing on college. He asks about her studies and what she plans on doing in the future. He wants to know how far her brilliant mind goes and, with every answer, he’s blown away.

Lydia loves how he’s truly interested in what she has to say. The look on his face is priceless when she tells him she already has two published articles.

After they finish their dinner, Stiles surprises her with a walk around the park next to the café. This time, she’s the one asking him a bunch of questions, since she was pretty much the one talking during their meal.

He talks mostly about all the trouble he would get into when he and Scott were in their teenage years. How he used to break in the police station, and the time when they went looking for a woman’s dead body cut in half.

“Unfortunately, my dad caught me looking for it and drove me home. But Scott stayed and found it a couple minutes later. I still have pictures.”

“That is… Weird and disgusting, to be completely honest.”

“Well, yes. But it’s not like I look at it all the time.” He shrugged. “It’s just in a box in my room back home. The early years of FBI Agent Stiles Stilinski.”

“Technically, that picture goes to the early years of veterinarian Scott McCall.”

They keep walking for a few more minutes, sometimes in silence, just enjoying the other’s presence. There’s something so intimate in this moment, Lydia thinks. Even though they discussed their entire life that evening, she feels more exposed when they’re not talking.

She thinks maybe it’s because she’s never done this before. She’s never just not talked to someone on a date. Or the fact that all her previous dates always ended with them in the bathroom or somewhere else, so they could have sex. But that what it was: sex. There wasn’t a connection, not a desire to get to know more. It was all carnal.

When she informed Stiles she had to get home, his heart sunk a little. Stiles wanted to ask her to give the date another hour, but he knew she had an early morning.

Stiles took the longer route to her place while explaining to her why she had to watch Star Wars. Lydia was impressed at how many things he could list about the greatness of the movie, and even more when she saw the face he did when she told him that maybe they could watch together.

He parked in front of her building and opened the door for her to leave, walking Lydia up to the building’s gate. She turned around and smiled at him.

“I really enjoyed this. Thank you for taking me out.”

“Well, thank _you_ for asking.” He smirked. “Maybe we can do this again sometime.”

“I’d love to.” She answered taking a step closer to him.

She was so close it made Stiles a little bit uneven for a second. His eyes immediately went to her very red lips and then to her eyes. She was looking at him intensely, with the corner of her mouth slightly lifted. His breath became shorter as soon as he looked down at her lips once more and slowly leaned towards her.

Lydia could feel the warm breath coming out of his mouth as she closed her eyes, just waiting for him. Stiles took a moment to look at her. She looked like porcelain. Her face so close, so pale, so beautiful. He didn’t think there was anyone as beautiful as she in the whole world. He didn’t think there was anyone with more intense green eyes. Or flawless skin. Or a strong personality.

Or even more inviting lips.

With a final husky breath, he closed the space between their lips.

He felt like he was in heaven.

And, in that moment, he was.

They started to move their lips slowly, trying to get to know each other’s mouth. When Stiles felt a little more confidence, his arms enlaced her waist and pulled Lydia closer, deepening the kiss.

Stiles wondered how he made through the night without having her lips pressed on his. He wondered how he’d manage not having her lips against his own after it ended. He hoped he’d be doing that for a long time.

Lydia never expected Stiles lips to be that soft. She was emerged on every movement his tongue did. Every warm breath that touched her cheek.  Every feeling he made her feel with just one simple kiss.

It was hard not to invite him back to apartment with her.

* * *

 

Everybody noticed the change in Stiles’ mood Monday morning. Kira kept asking all kinds of questions on how his date went and what happened after, but he wouldn’t give any kind of information, just smiled and kissed her cheek.

Scott was the only one who knew all about it, but didn’t dare to say a word. He was so proud of his friend and so happy to see that big smile on his face.

“C’mon. Did you kiss? Or sleep together?” Kira asked again. “Maybe not sleep because Malia and I were home and we didn’t _hear_ anything. Although we were pretty busy ourselves, so…”

“Let him be, Kira.” Scott said leaning on the counter, watching the place fill with customers. “Just watch closely when she comes by to get her daily coffee.” He whispered in her ear.

It’s another two hours when she finally shows up at the coffee shop. The place is a little crowded and it takes a minute for Stiles to see her bright strawberry blonde hair among the other customers.

His body suddenly freezes, not sure how to act around her. Yes, their date was amazing and he kept reliving their kiss the whole weekend, amongst constantly texting her. But he never considered how they would act in public. He not once thought if the kiss meant that they would do it in front of other people or if it was just a one time thing.

He hoped it wasn’t.

Stiles didn’t have time to think further once he saw her walking in his direction. Lydia’s smile reached her eyes and she was just brightening the whole place with her presence. A lot of the staff just stopped whatever they were doing to look at her and Stiles, curious on what would happen. Stiles even caught Kira, who stopped taking an order from a table to come close to the counter, watching the couple’s next move.

Lydia greeted Scott as she passed him and walked behind the counter, surprising Stiles. She stopped next to him and tucked one lock of hair behind her ear before leaning towards him and kissing his lips.

Stiles could sense the whole place watching them curiously. He could hear Kira’s excited little claps she did when she was elated. And even Scott’s small chuckle. But he ignored all of that, because he was kissing Lydia Martin in front of everybody, and he couldn’t be more glad to do so.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm @lydiastxles on tumblr.


End file.
